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by
Barbara Ramsay Orr
Once
you've stayed at the Arc, all the other hotels in Canada's capital city of Ottawa
seem like old men, some with facelifts and makeovers, but passé when compared
to the new young personality in the capital. Arc
the hotel in Ottawa reshapes the idea of a hotel to fit modern sensibilities.
Although there are other boutique style hotels in Canada, this, according to Guy
Luzy, the general manager, is the first design hotel in Canada, and its appeal
is clearly aimed at a traveler who values efficiency but likes it with ‘luxe’.
The well heeled, sophisticated high-tech traveler, specifically. None
of these adjectives fits me, although I consider myself pretty tech-savvy, but
I fell in love with this hotel. I knew it for sure when I was snuggling into the
down duvet, the 320 count pure cotton sheets and the oversized pillows. My last
thought before sleep came was "I could live here", and I've never felt
that way about a hotel room before. It's
a sleek hotel, it's beautiful, and it's ultra cool. I swear I became better looking
and more sophisticated while I stayed there, like I absorbed it through my skin.
A kind of Zen-by-osmosis thing. The
entrance on Slater Street, for example, is subtle. You could easily walk by this
hotel without noticing it. So your arrival is private and personal, not a trek
through a cavernous anonymous lobby. It's more like checking in to your own club.
The woman at the desk, where they serve you a complimentary glass of bubbly if
you arrive after five, had a geometric haircut that matched the décor. The
hotel has a contemporary, urban feel to it, the result of the inspired design
of Yabu Pushelburg, the Canadian team who did the makeover of Tiffany's flagship
store on Fifth Avenue.
The
Arc's
spaces are spare but attractive, utilitarian yet luxurious. The lobby, for example,
has limestone floors, but they are covered with a warm hued calligraphy-adorned
carpet. (The words say " Rest your mind, Awaken your spirit" in several
different languages) There's lots of black and glass and chrome, but it's softened
with dove gray suede on tables and ottomans, and punches of warm color. (CONTINUE...)
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